


Tundratown Trouble

by kunterbunt



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor - All Media Types, Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Adventure, But who wouldn't want to see Tony Stark with a tail and lush fur?, Crossover, Furry, Huh ... learned some new tag terms just now, Plushophilia??
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-17
Updated: 2016-06-17
Packaged: 2018-07-15 14:51:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7226908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kunterbunt/pseuds/kunterbunt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bruce disappears and a team of furry Avengers is confronted with a dangerous mystery that could destroy all of Zootopia.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tundratown Trouble

_„Step into Zootopia, the sprawling, sparkling megacity, where every citizen from rabbit to rhino can be whatever they want. Surely you have heard the inspiring story of Judy Hopps, who made it from carrot farmer to chief of police? She has protected our city for ten years now, but some dangers are too great even for our courageous cop force. In those special cases the newly founded ‚Avengers’ are called in to defend Zootopia with teeth and claws.“_

_Reineke Vulpin of the Fox News Channel_

 

(Coulson’s POV):

The door to his office opened and closed seemingly of its own accord. The handle moved, but no visitor appeared. The effect was ghostlike and would have spooked most people, but Coulson was used to having an invisible agent around. 

„Good morning, Natasha“, he said. 

The chameleon population of Zootopia could change their skin color at will and Natasha Romanova had taken that natural ability to a whole new level. When she blended into the background, she actually seemed to vanish. The effect was pretty nerve-wracking. At least to normal citizens.

„I’m glad that you could join me so quickly“, Coulson said, talking to thin air. „It looks like we have an emergency at hand.“ 

Natasha materialized in front of the bland beige file cabinet. With her body fully visible, the chameleonic spy looked stunning. Her beauty could turn the head of every male, no matter what species. Flaming red swirls ran over her skin like a blazing bonfire, and she moved with the fluid grace of a ballet dancer. The tight bodysuit Stark had designed for her left little to the imagination. (Stark claimed that the close fit was necessary because the camouflage material wouldn’t work otherwise, but Coulson had his doubts.) 

He looked towards the ceiling and said: „Clint, I know you’re up there. Would you please join in, so we can start the briefing?“

Natasha’s partner dropped out of the air vent on all fours and stood up with easy confidence. The clothing on his sleek, furry body was strictly military: a black combat vest and cargo trousers, combined with the trademark bow and arrows he’d slung over his shoulder. Most handlers at SHIELD found his habit of roaming the ducts and pipes of the building unsetteling, but Coulson didn’t care. Clint was a pine marten, so of course he felt more comfortable in tight ceiling spaces than the actual floors. 

„You called, Sir?“, he said and gave Coulson a slightly mocking salute. „What’s the big problem?“

„Big is the right word for it. I’ve got a report that Dr. Banner went missing. He had an appointment at the university – a guest lecture about gamma radiation – but never turned up.“ 

„Shit“, Clint said. His tail gave a nervous flick and his eyes showed more than professional concern. The Avengers Iniative was relativly new, but Clint had developed a soft spot for the scientist. Apart from that, they all knew what kind of destructive potential Dr. Banner had when angered. „That’s all the intel we got? 

„I’m afraid so. With any luck he simply forgot about the lecture and is spending a lazy morning in one of the teahouses he likes so much.“

„Skipping a job? That doesn’t sound like Bruce“, Natasha said.

„No it doesn’t“, Coulson agreed. „See that you find him before something nasty happens. I propose you start at –“ He got interrupted by a new bit of information on his computer screen. „Or not. The mayor just put Zootopia on full alert. It seems that the Hulking Beast has appeared in the middle of Tundratown and is going on a rampage.“ 

Clint frowned. „That doesn’t make much sense, right? The doc doesn’t hulk out without a reason, and why would he be in Tundratown anyway? That’s not his usual climate zone.“ 

„Good question, but irrelevant at the moment“, Coulson said. „Your first priority is to stop him by any means necessary and protect the population. I’ll send the rest of the Avengers in as well and I expect you to shoot first and ask questions later. We both know that Bruce will recover from about anything you hit him with.“

„But –“

Coulson snapped his sharp beak. „Agent, there’s no time to argue. If somebody set Bruce up, we’ll make them pay for it ... later. Now go.“

Clint twitched his nose in displeasure, but turned around and marched out of the door, an invisible Natasha at his tail. 

His agents knew by experience that he would keep his word to hunt the real culprit down. Most people took Coulson for a paper-shoving bureaucrat, which only showed how unobservant the general public could be. He didn’t look like much at first sight. As a secretary bird he sprouted gray feathers and gangly stork legs. The formal office vest he wore over his plumage was just as gray and unassuming. A dozen quillfeathers flapped down from his head and gave him an amicable, slightly humorous appearance. But anyone who knew about biological trivia wouldn’t have been suprised by Coulson’s hidden ferocity: Before the Truce, secretary birds used to hunt snakes as their favorite snack. The more poisonous the better. 

 

(Natasha’s POV):

Clint piloted the SHIELD helicopter with his usual skill and Natasha looked out of the front window at the cityscape rushing by. The seven different climate zones of Zoomania were plainly visible from up here. The scycrapers of downtown fell behind and gave way to the humid jungle of the Rainforest District and the desertland of Sahara Square. 

Her eyes turned towards their goal ahead and her skin turned an uncomfortable glacier blue. She didn’t like Tundratown. All the other sectors were fine, but she was a reptile, which meant that the arctic cold slowed her body functions down and could freeze her in mid-motion. A prolonged stay would be lethal, at least for normal chameleons. That wasn’t a problem for her anymore, because the camouflage suit Tony had designed also included hightech insulation and temperature control. But some fears were simply instinctual and you couldn’t shake them off even as a rational being. 

Speaking of Tony, she could see him zooming towards their helicopter in his crimson IronCatSuit. He transported Steve on his back, which always made for an amusing picture. Cap enjoyed those flights with the enthusiasm only a golden retriever could muster: flapping ears, streaming fur and wagging tail. He held the shield in his muzzle like a frisbee. 

Tony and Steve had rubbed each other in all the wrong ways at the beginning, which wasn’t surprising considering der species. Their first meeting had become somewhat legendary at SHIELD. Tony had sashayed through headquarters in true tomcat style, pimped up in designer clothes and mirrored sunglasses. He’d given the Captain a once-over, thrown a ballpen down the hall and told him to ‚fetch’. Since then, they’d fought like cat and dog. Literally.

But to everyone’s surprise – even her own – they worked great together in battle, balancing each other out like only true opposites could. From the helicopter window she saw Tony do a horizontal spin just for the fun of it, while Steve held on for dear life and bark-laughed around the shield. Natasha rolled her eyes (nobody could do that like a female chameleon) and murmered: ‚Mammels and their testosterone“. If those two had anything in common, it was their addiction to speed. 

Tony landed at the same time as Clint powered the helicopter down. A depressing landscape of snow spread out to all sides. In front of them stood the Cooling Unit. It towered up 200 feet high, a forbidding fortress of concrete and steel. The building was topped with powerful ventilators and snow cannons. The walls gave off a bone-chilling cold. Even Tony hadn’t dared to fly closer, because the roof was enveloped in an everlasting blizzard. 

The sound of the roaring snowstorm couldn’t drown out the Beast. It’s howls of rage made the earth shake. They came from inside the building.

„Hey, you got any idea what hulked out our neighbourhood nerd?“, Tony asked through the suit’s speaker. Steve jumped off his back and lifted the cowl off his face. He stared at the building with narrowed eyes, already working out the tactics of their attack. 

„Not yet“, Natasha said and shifted from foot to foot, which was so unlike her that even Tony noticed. 

„Hm, the cold getting to you? Climate gear holding up okay?“, he asked. 

„Everything is fine“, Natasha assured him. It was just nerves, but she wouldn’t tell him that. „Can you locate Bruce inside the building?“

„Yeah, and I don’t like what I see. Somehow he got into the control area. That means we have to stop him bloody quickly. If he rips out enough important part, the whole city sector will turn unliveable. At least for the guys who like it freezing. Without the Cooling Unit, people would have to move out, return to the wild, live at the ass of the world like their ancestors. There’d be a mass exodus and all-out panic in Zootopia. Can you imagine the chaos? Tundratown would be history.“ 

„Very well, then we have to draw the Beast away from sensitive parts of the building“, Steve concluded. „At least we don’t have to worry about civilians in there. The situation could be worse. Just imagine an angry Bruce in Little Rodentia. Let’s go in and look for him.“

 

(Tony’s POV):

Bruce wasn’t hard to find. You just had to follow the sound of smashing. Besides, Tony’s sensors picked up the Beast’s life signs easily. Its unnatural size and body heat made it stand out like a beacon on his CatSuit’s visor screen. He zoomed towards his target and the rest of the Avengers fell quickly behind. „Bloody hell, it’s like a maze in here“, Tony complained. „Jarvis, tell the others where to go, will you?“

„Of course, Sir“, his AI answered. 

The building had been evacuated and the empty halls looked like remnants of a natural disaster. Walls had been smashed to pulp wherever the Beast came through. Electrical cables hung from the ceiling in tatters and showered sparks everywhere. 

After a few tense minutes he reached the control area. To his relief, most of the tech in here hadn’t powered down. All along the walls screens glowed and computer lights blinked. The Beast had holed up in the main room, which was designed to accomodate tech experts from other city parts – like giraffes and elephants – so according to the blueprints it was pretty large and had a high ceiling. 

When Tony swerved around the corner he was met by a nightmarish sight, illuminated by sickly, flickering lights. The Beast lurched around on its hindlegs and slammed its body into machinery, roaring with anger. It looked like a monstrous bear, covered in shaggy green fur, foam dripping from a snout full of razorsharp teeth. It’s head actually reached the ceiling. In its mindless wrath it hadn’t noticed Tony, who felt tiny as a gnat in comparison. 

Well, that wouldn’t do. „Hey, big guy!“, Tony hollered. „Play time is over. Move your XL-butt out of here!“ 

The beast gave him a short look, dismissed him as unimportant and returned to its work of destruction. Tony’s cat eyes narrowed to slits and he felt his claws unsheathing.

„Okay, let’s do this the hard way, then.“ He raised his hand and fired a repulsor beam at the Beast’s furry rump. The bear gave a howl that shook the walls and twisted around. As soon as it had located Tony, it bared it’s fearsome teeth and rushed at him. „No longer ignoring me, are you?“, Tony commented.

His CatSuit made it easy to evade the clumsy paws. He flitted around in the air, always just out of reach. The enraged giant followed him snarling down the halls. Good. 

„Cap, you anywhere near?“, Tony asked through the intercom. 

„We are just behind you and waiting for engagement. Natasha and Clint have readied two doses of SHIELD’s new tranquilizer. Let’s hope the formula works. Clint has turned an arrow into a syringe and Natasha plans to climb up the Beast’s back to push a dosage right into his neck artery.“ 

„Sounds like a plan. I’m going to keep Bruce occupied. Perhaps you should stay out of it, Cap. We don’t want to make the Beast any angrier then we need to, and you’d just be another target at the moment. I’m good on my own.“

„Alright. I’ll wait and provide backup.“

The plan wasn’t overly complicated, but it managed to go awry anyway. 

Natasha was just climbing up the Beast’s shoulder blade with her usual acrobatic grace when Clint’s arrow struck. The giant bear couldn’t have felt more than a pinprick, really. But it bugged him enough to go for the nearest ‚scratching tree’ and rub his back against a concrete pillar. Natasha had to scrabble to the side so she wouldn’t get squashed. By pure bad luck she got in the way of the Beast’s paw when it swatted clumsily at the arrow. 

Tony saw it all happen in slow motion. He tried to distract the Beast, but the damage was already done. A claw raked across Natasha’s camouflage suit and left a bleeding wound in her side. She was thrown to the floor, twenty feet down. Being Natasha, she landed in a perfect roll, but the impact was still hard enough to break bones. Even worse was the fact that her suit’s protecting layers had been breached. Tundratowns icy cold pressed in on her and enveloped her like a funeral shroud. Tony could _see_ it freezing her blood. Her limbs turned stiff and sluggish, until she stopped moving altogether.

 

(Steve’s POV):

When he saw his camaeleon comrade fall – her skin flashing scarlet like an explosion of fear and pain – Steve acted out of pure instinct. Probably not the cleverest thing he’d ever done, and the spy would have been appalled by his lack of self-control. But he’d spend decades frozen in arctic ice himself and just couldn’t leave her helpless like that. With windhound speed he raced towards Natasha, raised his shield protectively and stared up at the monster looming over him. A single step of the Beast’s enormous feet could flatten both of them at once. 

The mountain of green fur moved. The foot lifted. 

„Bruce, stop where you are“, Steve said with his most commanding voice. „I don’t want to fight you. Look, Natasha is hurt. She’s your friend. Just look at her, Bruce. – Damn it, stand down!!“

Perhaps the voice of his team leader actually reached a deep-down part of Bruce’s brain. Or the tranquilizer that Clint had administered started to work. Anyway, the Beast hestitated. It gave a questioning growl and looked at the chameleon that lay lifeless at its feet. Natasha’s skin was a deathly shade of ebony. Red blood sipped out of the wound in her side. 

The Beast leaned down and sniffed at her. Steve lowered the shield and stepped aside warily. The massive head came so near that a wave of foul breath hit him and almost made him retch his kibbles up. Had the Beast actually understood him? Bruce always claimed that his other half was a mindless force of destruction, but perhaps that wasn’t altogether true. 

„Yeah, that’s it, Bruce“, Steve said. „Calm down and try to turn yourself back. Natasha needs help. We have to get her out of here.“

The mad fire left the bear’s eyes. With a final floor-shaking grumble the Beast retreated into a corner of the room, where it lay down and started shrinking. The process was fascinating to watch. Steve had never seen it from up close before. The predatory snout became soft and rounded, the shaggy pelt vanished and left normal fur behind. Fluffy ears stood out from an amiable face. Steve walked towards Bruce, who blinked at him with bewildered, myopic eyes. 

The Hulking Beast had turned into a tiny, cuddly koala. 

„Uh, what happened?“, Bruce asked. „And does anyone have my clothes? I feel really naked without a tie.“

 

(Bruce’s POV):

They rushed Natasha into SHIELD medical, where the fruitbat doctor reassured them that everything would be fine. She was still in a state of ‚torpor’ – a forced winter sleep –, but her color had already returned to a more healthy shade of jungle green. Bruce was relieved that he hadn’t done her any permanent harm. 

He would have liked to stay at her bedside and apologize when she woke up, but the doctor herded all of them out with flapping wings. „My patient needs rest“, he said with his high-pitched voice. „You can come back later. One visitor at a time.“

Bruce wasn’t happy, but he obeyed. After one of his episodes he always felt especially shy and didn’t want to make a fuss.

„So, Teddy of Doom, do you remember how you ended up in Tundratown’s climate control of all places?“, Tony asked when they left the hospital wing. 

The millionair had shed his CatSuit and sauntered along with easy steps. Now and then he made flirty remarks to the female agents they encountered on the way. A surprising number of them reacted flattered. Well, even Bruce could see the appeal of jet-black fur and sparkling green eyes. Tony could charm the pants off every species and was known for his adventurous taste. Bruce had heard stories about a water bed and an octopus that made him blush even now.

„Sorry, Tony, I have no idea what happened. As far as I know, I was on my way to the university. After that everything becomes a blur.“ He shoved his glasses up in a nervous gesture. At least he wore his normal outfit again, including a tie and a pocket protector. The glasses were awkward as usual, because a koala just didn’t have the right kind of nose for them, but his species was short-sighted by nature.

„Hm. If you’d hulked out there and then, we would know about it by the path of destruction. So somebody must have snatched you up and brought you to Tundratown on purpose.“

„It seems that way. Quite a risk to take on the part of the kidnappers.“ His fluffy ears perked up. „Unless they didn’t know about the Hulking Beast. Perhaps they wanted me for another reason – like my expertise on gamma radiation – and got a nasty surprise.“

Tony gave a snort. „Nice thought, but unlikely. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that you ended up in the middle of Tundratown’s most vital tech.“

Bruce agreed. A lot of this was still a mystery and he didn’t like it at all.

Who would be unscrupulous enough to wake the Beast and use it as a weapon? If the Avengers hadn’t stopped him, he could have wiped out a whole city sector. Bruce made a growl that would have done the Hulking Beast proud. One thing was for sure: He wouldn’t be used that way again. 

Bruce was going to find the ones responsible and stop them before they came up with a new plan of destruction. Villains beware! Never underestimate a koala on a mission!

**Author's Note:**

> So, casting people in the role of animals can become addictive. Now every time Donald Trump appears on tv, his trademark hairdo turns into that of politician Bellwether before my eyes. (Bellwether is a female sheep. She wins votes by stirring up hatred against ‚dangerous’ minorities. Quote: „Fear always works.“) Kind of funny in a horrible way.


End file.
